Mortality associated with concurrent infections of peste des petitis ruminants, Pasteurella and Clostridium in a stall-fed ram lamb farm

In a ram lamb farm, 660 ram lambs (out of 754 lambs) showed various clinical symptoms with 422 deaths (63.9%) over a period of 28 days after procurement from different sources without proper immunization. Mortality occurred as two waves, the first one due to peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and subsequently complicated by pasturellosis and enterotoxaemia. Lambs showed pyrexia, anorexia, lacrimation, diarrohoea, tenesmus, sero-mucopurulent nasal discharges, marked respiratory distress, ulcerative stomatitis, profuse blood-tinged diarrhoea, erosive necrotic lesions of buccal cavity and tongue. Post-mortem lesions were necrotic haemorrhage in the intestine and trachea and fibrinous pneumonia and were suggestive of PPR. Gram negative bipolar organisms were found in heart blood smears, impression smears of liver and lungs of 34 carcasses (26.9%). Post-mortem examination showed subcutaneous haemorrhages, bronchopneumonia, pneumonitis, focal, multifocal fibrino-purulent lesions of lungs and liver, excess sanguineous plural fluid suggesting pasturellosis. Pulpy kidney, haemorrhagic necrotic areas with hydropericardium, pericardial petichiation, localized congestion of abomasal / intestinal mucosa and haemorrhage, oedema and liquefaction of brain were observed. Urine collected from these lamb carcasses showed positive Benedict's test indicating enterotoxaemia. Amikacin Inj (10 mg/kg IM), enrofloxacin inj. (2.5 mg/kg IM), atropine sulfate inj. (0.1 mg/kg, IM) and electrolyte solution (15 ml/kg IV) were given for a period of 8 days which reduced the deaths noticeably. The study suggested that for commercial lamb farms, lambs need to be procured from known sources with limited transit stress, and complete maternal and lamb immunization.